The Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) has published its investigation report about the causes of the fire in the area of the deck cargo on board the container ship Yantian Express, identifying coconut charcoal as the likely cause of the fire.Download the report

Safety alert about the prevention of fuel spray fire published by USCG The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has released a safety alert to inform the industry about a fuel spray fire onboard a commercial vessel. These types of incidents, which involve fuel leaks contacting hot surfaces and igniting, happen with too much regularity and have been the subject for various marine safety organizations to consider for many years.Read the full story

A culture of poor maintenance practices led to Caribbean Fantasy fire says report A poor safety culture and the ineffective implementation of a safety management system were identified as the most likely causes of the 2016 fire aboard the RoRo vessel Caribbean Fantasy. The vessel’s main engine room was hit by fire in the morning hours of 17 August 2016, when fuel spraying from a leaking flange came in contact with a hot surface on the port main propulsion engine, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report.Read the story in full

Broken valve causes oil spill while bunkering The Swedish P&I Club has described a case of an oil spill during a vessel’s bunkering operations which led to an oil spill, the cause of which was a broken valve. Following investigation, the Club recommended that all involved parties should be informed when tanks are switched and that the crew must always ensure the valves are completely shut and working.Download the report

Lessons Learned from El Faro on main propulsion published by USCG The US Coast Guard has published a safety alert to inform operators and other interested parties of the role that the main propulsion lube oil system was found to have played in the El Faro incident. They have recommended that operators, especially ships’ engineers, review the operational procedures and limitations of vital propulsion machinery and verify compliance with SOLAS, Classification Societies and regulatory standards.Read the story in full

Research findings highlight issues with dirty engine room bilges Recent analysis of the Shipowners Club’s Condition Survey Programme has highlighted that approximately 25% of the vessels surveyed showed evidence of contaminated engine room bilges. As such they seek to raise awareness of the potential fire hazards associated with oily engine room bilges and the checks and steps that a ship’s crew and/or surveyor should undertake.Read the story in full

Marine bollard failures give USCG cause for concern The USCG issued an alert informing that recently, there have been a number of shore side marine bollard failures whereby moored vessels were cast adrift. In some cases, this resulted in damage to the involved vessel, as well as other nearby vessels and shore side structures, the USCG warned.Read the story in full

NTSB publishes its official report on Island Lady fire off Florida The NTSB has released the official investigation report on the fire onboard the small passenger vessel ‘Island Lady’ on the Pithlachascotee River, near Port Richey, Florida. NTSB held a public meeting in mid-December where it identified insufficient preventative maintenance program and lack of guidance for responding to engine high-temperature conditions.Download the report

Poor firefighting system and lack of crew training lead to PeeJay V sinking In January 2016, the passenger vessel PeeJay V caught fire and sank. The reason was due to an ineffective main firefighting system and crew who did not fully understand how it should work. New Zealand’s TAIC has published its report on the incident highlighting that for a CO2 firefighting system to be useful, the space must be airtight and everyone involved should be fully trained and know how the system works.Download the report

This urgent bulletin has been issued after working in a refrigerated saltwater tank resulted in a fatal accident on board fv Sunbeam (FR487) at Fraserburgh, Scotland on 14 August 2018.Download the safety bulletin

Sinking raises safety issues on bilge alarms The UK MAIB provides learnings about an 8.13m fibreglass fishing vessel that was engaged in picking up its fleets of creels when it began to take on water and subsequently sank. The skipper, who was working alone, managed to deploy the boat’s liferaft and climb into it as the boat was sinking and was later rescued without injuries.Read the story in full

A safety alert issued by BSEE following inspections and findings from fired vesselsUS Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has issued a safety alert summarizing its findings and recommendations following a number of recent risk-based inspections. BSEE’s team of inspectors and engineers developed several recommendations from inspection findings to reduce the risks associated with fired vessels; hydrocarbon processing vessels on offshore oil and gas facilities with self-contained, natural or forced draft burners.Download the safety alert